In an afternoon press briefing on Friday, the city's top cop laid out her vision for the department and the reform efforts underway.

Friday, March 8th 2019, 1:56 PM EST

Updated:

Wednesday, March 20th 2019, 3:46 PM EDT

Edited by Emmy Freedman

Reported by Annie Schroeder

Chief Brackney says a new interactive website will help improve transparency

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) -
In an afternoon press briefing on Friday, the city's top cop laid out her vision for the department and the reform efforts underway.

We've already seen some changes take place, including some recent promotions.

And now, in an effort to be transparent, the department is making a slew of data available online to everyone.

On Friday, March 8, Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney outlined a new interactive way of using released police data to the public after months of accusations that the department isn’t releasing enough information to the public.

"Legitimacy and transparency surrounding data collection and availability has been a concern of this community prior to and since my arrival,” Brackney said.

Charlottesville's police chief is vowing to make the department as transparent as possible.

“In order for an organization to develop, grow, and respond to meet the needs of the community, it must first evaluate its performance, identify gaps, and work toward narrowing those gaps,” Brackney said. “We have put in the hard work to identify ours."

On Friday, Brackney announced the department will now post data surrounding internal affairs, investigative detentions, arrests, daily incidents, and crime mapping on its new interactive website.

"I really believe that this meets the community's call for transparency and exceeds many expectations,” Mike Murphy, Charlottesville’s interim city manager, said.

Earlier this year, members of the Police Civilian Review Board called for better access to police data from both the department and Chief Brackney.

The new interactive data website will feature statistics as far back as five years ago.

“This would allow for complete integration for the principles and philosophies of community policing, which are integral to our operations,” Brackney said.